


The Opposite of Fragile

by ellipted (savagecrowns)



Series: The Opposite of Apart [7]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Dorks in Love, I Can't Believe I Wrote This, IwaOi Week, M/M, iwaoi week june, so much sap, they are literally the most embarrassing boys ever
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-14
Updated: 2015-06-14
Packaged: 2018-04-04 08:18:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4130842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/savagecrowns/pseuds/ellipted
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sometimes defeat doesn't mean the end, but it might take someone else to show you that.</p><p>Day 6: Last Times</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Opposite of Fragile

**Author's Note:**

> seriously i wasn't joking this is just 1300 words of sap
> 
> iwaizumi is the most level-headed person in the history of people. his mental strength is ridiculous. y'all know that as soon as he got over himself after they lost to karasuno, he devoted himself to being a way better player, a way better person
> 
> there are no dead ends for iwaizumi hajime--only walls he need to bulldoze through
> 
> edited; june 16

“The last time we hiked up this mountain you complained all the way up _and_ the entire time we were up here _and_ the entire way down.”

“I was having a bad day, Iwa-chan.”

“What on earth made you want to do it again?”

“I just felt like it.”

“You just… felt like it…” Iwaizumi said the words slowly, as if he was testing them out. They tasted bad in his mouth, like sour eggs or the beginning of a really bad idea.

They were only about a quarter of the way up the mountain, and though it was true that Oikawa had yet to complain or whine, the slope only got steeper the farther up you went. Looking back, he honestly wasn’t entirely sure how they made it up to the top as kids.

The sun was beating down on the back of Iwaizumi’s neck, and the summer heat was stifling. Still, he couldn’t really bring himself to be that annoyed with Oikawa. The dirt beneath his shoes, the weight of his backpack, the steady hum of insects in the air brought back memory after memory of their days when they were kids and they had spent their days beetle-hunting or rock-hopping across streams. 

This was the first time they’d been out since their defeat by Karasuno. They’d spent most of their days since either studying or cooped up indoors, avoiding studying.

“Call it a whim, Iwa-chan.”

“I am unfamiliar with the idea of Oikawa Tooru having whims,” Iwaizumi said without inflection. 

“Iwa-chan, I know you’re having fun. No need to pretend.”

Iwaizumi blew out a long breath, pointedly not looking at Oikawa. “Yeah, I guess I am. Thanks for suggesting this.”

“You are welcome, Iwa-chan,” Oikawa replied, for once without his usual air of magnanimity.

Iwaizumi frowned slightly. 

They continued up, more or less hiking beside one another unless the trail narrowed too much to accommodate both of them, or if it became particularly steep and they needed to help each other up. Oikawa more or less kept up a constant stream of chatter, though Iwaizumi wasn’t a passive party, and their easy conversation flooded the forest wherever they went. 

They made it to the top of the mountain in good time but instead of a feeling of triumph, it was more like— _what? Already? But we aren’t ready to be done yet…_

As if hiking several kilometres in an afternoon was just as easy as sitting down to play a board game. 

Iwaizumi let his backpack fall from his shoulders to the ground with a rattled _thump_ , stretching his arms above his head, grunting softly. His shirt rode up slightly and the mountain breeze was welcome against his abdomen. “Ah, now what?”

“Now what, what?”

“Well, you’ve got some sort of plan, don’t you? Whim, my ass. Why are we up here?”

Oikawa looked away, but Iwaizumi was _sure_ he saw a light blush on his cheeks—though it could just be that Oikawa got sunburned. 

“The sunset is really pretty, Iwa-chan. Let’s eat in front of it.”

“ _Hei, hei_ ,” Iwaizumi drawled, lifting his pack back onto one shoulder and following behind Oikawa. It didn’t take long for him to choose a nice spot, and within minutes they had laid everything out for their picnic dinner. 

The sunset really was pretty, Iwaizumi conceded. Up so high, there weren’t any trees or buildings to hinder it, just fields as far as he could see. The sky was an angry orange, a blush pink, the purple of a bruise, and at the very edges, a little bit of red, like the trickle of blood from a scraped knee. The colours kind of reminded him of their childhood, and all of the mischief they got up to. 

“I just wanted to remember what we were like when we were kids,” Oikawa murmured softly. He was hugging his knees to his chest. “Before—“

“Before we realized that we weren’t invincible, is what you’re about to say.” Iwaizumi narrowed his eyes, though whether it was against the sun’s glare or because he wasn’t pleased was debatable. “But we are, you know.”

“Iwa-chan—“

“We are.” Iwaizumi laid back on the ground, preferring to soak in the sun’s last vestiges of warmth rather than look at the harsh glare. “We are invincible as long as I believe in you, and you—“ Iwaizumi paused, just for an instant, “believe in me. We can do anything together.”

He heard Oikawa shifting beside him, felt him transition from sitting up to lying down as well. Oikawa laid so his shoulder was touching Iwaizumi’s and Iwaizumi let his leg fall so it rested against Oikawa’s. The forest behind them was alive with life, but it was all white noise to them. 

“And here I brought you up here so I could confess to you, but I don’t think I could ever do better than that, Iwa-chan.” 

“Hah? Confess? You kissed me _last week_ and told me you loved me!”

“Well, that was because I got impatient! This was supposed to be when I was gonna confess and it was going to be very romantic and you were going to swoon in my arms.”

“Like hell I would. Pretty sure out of the two of us, you’re 100% more likely to swoon than I am.” Iwaizumi nudged Oikawa’s shoulder.

This was more like the Oikawa he knew, a botched attempt at perfection.

“You could have at least let me have my fantasy, Iwa-chan.”

“Why should I? It’s completely baseless. Besides, you liked being dipped when we had to take dance lessons that time, anyway.”

Oikawa blushed—this time it was definitely a blush—because he remembered those dance lessons _very_ well. As Iwaizumi tended to with all athletic endeavours, he had smoothly picked up the tango like he’d been dancing all his life. The way he’d gripped Oikawa’s hips and led him around the dance floor—well, Oikawa had had more than a little trouble keeping himself from tripping over his own feet.

“Iwa-chan is just so manly, it’s hard not to be led astray.”

“Pretty sure _you’re_ always the one trying to lead _me_ astray, Kusoikawa.”

“That was only once.”

“One _hundred_.”

“I rounded down.”

Iwaizumi rolled his eyes. The sky was darkening fast, and it occurred to him—far too late—that perhaps they shouldn’t have hiked up the mountain in the afternoon. The visibility going down would probably be a little difficult, for him anyway. Oikawa would probably just trip and fall the entire way down the mountain.

“Oikawa, you know—“ he started, about to voice his concerns, turning to face him.

“Sh,” Oikawa turned onto his side, curling himself around Iwaizumi’s torso and resting his cheek on his shoulder, getting comfortable. 

“Oikawa—“ he tried again.

“Iwa-chan, whatever you have to say, the sky is currently more important.”

Iwaizumi obliged him, also as he tended to do, and looked up at the nearly black sky. Nearly black, because there were thousands of thousands of white dots high above them, and then a few hundred warm glowing ones, just above their heads. 

Fireflies, Iwaizumi mouthed, too awed to actually speak. 

Alright, maybe seeing this would be worth the hassle of the trek down. 

“Thank you, Iwa-chan, for letting me believe I can do anything. I swear,” Oikawa paused, “I promise you that was the last time you’ll ever hear me doubt myself, doubt _us_. Because even when I doubt myself, I could never doubt you.”

“Dumbass, it won’t be the last time. But you don’t have to worry because I’ll be here for all of those ‘last times’ to correct you, so it’s fine.” Iwaizumi curled his arm around Oikawa’s shoulders, hugging him tightly.

“Why does Iwa-chan always sound so reliable?”

“One of us has to be.”

“Iwa-chan is an emotional bully.”

“Don’t make me headbutt you.”

“Iwa-chan is also a physical bully!”

“Don’t pretend you don’t enjoy the attention.”

“Only a little.”


End file.
